This application is related to Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-130127 filed on Apr. 26, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner which automatically performs a breaking-in operation of a compressor.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional vehicle air conditioner, a breaking-in operation of a compressor is manually performed by an operator in a vehicle assemble line after the air conditioner is mounted on the vehicle. Specifically, in the vehicle assemble line, a compressor-operation instruction switch on an air-conditioning operation panel is turned on by the operator during an engine operation, so that the operation of the compressor is started. Further, during a breaking-in period of the compressor, a rotation speed of the vehicle engine is set at a predetermined rotation speed (e.g., equal to or lower than 2000 rpm), and operation of the compressor is continued for a predetermined time (e.g., 2 minutes). However, because the rotation speed of the vehicle engine and a continuation time of the breaking-in operation are set by the operator, the rotation speed of the vehicle engine may become larger than the predetermined speed, or the continuation time of the breaking-in operation may become shorter than the predetermined time.
Lubricating oil in a refrigerant cycle is firstly sealed within the compressor by a regulation amount. When the breaking-in operation of the compressor is actually performed under a regulation condition, the lubricating oil cannot be sufficiently supplied to each necessary part of the compressor, where the lubricating oil is necessary. Accordingly, the compressor may be operated at a high speed before the lubricating oil is supplied to each necessary part of the compressor, or the air conditioner may be operated in an insufficient state of the breaking-in operation of the compressor, thereby reducing the durability of the compressor.
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner which can accurately perform breaking-in operation of a compressor under a predetermined condition by an automatic control.
According to the present invention, in air conditioner for a vehicle, a control unit includes determining means for determining a first start of a compressor for compressing refrigerant in a refrigerant cycle after being mounted on the vehicle, and control means for controlling operation of the compressor to be operated for a predetermined time by a rotation speed equal to or lower than a predetermined rotation speed when the determining means determines the first start of the compressor. Accordingly, when the first start of the compressor is determined, the compressor can be automatically operated by the rotation speed equal to or lower than the predetermined rotation speed for the predetermined time. Therefore, the breaking-in operation of the compressor can be accurately performed by an automatic control under a predetermined condition. Thus, it can accurately prevent a reduce of durability of the compressor, due to an insufficient breaking-in operation of the compressor.
Preferably, the compressor is disposed to be driven by an engine of the vehicle, and the determining means determines the first start of the compressor based on information of the first start of the engine and turning-on information of the compressor. Alternatively, the determining means determines the first start of the compressor based on only information of the first start of the engine.
In the present invention, the control means includes a timer that starts a count of a timer time when the operation of the compressor firstly starts. When the rotation speed of the compressor becomes higher than the predetermined rotation speed in the operation of the compressor due to the first start of the compressor, the control means interrupts the operation of the compressor, and the count of the timer time of the timer. Thereafter, when the rotation speed of the compressor becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined rotation speed, the operation of the compressor is restarted, and continuation of the count of the timer time of the timer means is performed. Accordingly, the breaking-in operation of the compressor can be more accurately performed.